Fix You
by J. B Jazz
Summary: Once upon a time, Jack Kelly loved Sally Matthews. One night tore them apart and another will return them to each other again. But, Snyder knows and tragedy follows in terrible forms. T for language, sexual content, and violence, and a bit of slash.
1. To Dance In My Dreams

A/N- I must warn you now that the dialogue will not be written in New York accents. Sorry! If you're really disappointed, use your imagination. Just kidding! Enjoy!

**Chapter One: To Dance In My Dreams**

_Remember when it rained_

_I felt the ground and looked up high and called your name…_

_In the darkness I remain…._

_-Josh Groban_

"Jacky-boy," Racetrack called out to his friend leaning against a lamppost and looking over the morning paper. The business had been bad since the strike, which was apparent as the streets stood empty and boring. The only thing that even showed presence of life in the streets were the newsies and an occasional passer-by.

Jack was jerked from his reading and seemed annoyed at the interruption. But, then again, he was annoyed by everything these days. A few nights before, he found love letters of Sarah's between her and another man in her room when he was visiting David. She found out about this and ended their relationship, causing a friendship to be bruised and a romance to be halted.

And there was the business. Before the strike, the streets were practically crawling with customers who would take the time to buy a pape. Now, the only people who made money were the girls selling themselves on the street. Jack had caught their eyes and whenever he passed them, the girls shouted for him to buy. The usually curious Jack just bowed his head and sped past them till their calls were merely echoes bouncing through the street and pounding in his head. When the others asked why he was so uncomfortable, he merely answered, "Ask my father," and walked away, storming.

"Jack," Racetrack repeated. Jack folded the newspaper and turned to him, looking up at the sky before squinting in the autumn sun. "You going to Medda's place tonight? I hear they got a new performer."

"Who?" Asked Jack, only half paying attention to the conversation. Race thought for a minute, mumbling and snapping his fingers as he tried to remember.

"Oh, I don't know, some girl, Sa….Samantha…Sarah…?"

Jack wrinkled his face up in disgust at the last name he said and sank to the ground, still leaning on the post. He fanned himself with the papers he held as Race ran off with the others after being dared to try and sell a pape to a prostitute. Jack sighed and looked up at the sun and its golden glance with secret admiration. He always had enjoyed the sun's warm beams upon him.

"If only I could find someone like you," he mumbled to the sun and to himself. "Someone to light up my day…" He was growing drowsy, looking straight into the giant star and realizing how stupid he sounded. He just laughed softly before being pulled into unconsciousness.

_Rain was pouring…Darkness had a grip on everything…Jack saw himself holding the hands of a girl, leading her through the night…He was younger…maybe eleven or twelve…_

_'I've been here before…somehow, I remember…'_

_There was a carriage…They were heading towards the carriage…They had nearly reached it…The boy was in it…Gunshots filled the streets…_

_The girl yelled for the boy…the carriage started to move…Faster and faster, like a boulder rolling down a hill…_

_'She never made it…How do I know this...?'_

_The children reached for each other…their fingertips touched…A gunshot…The girl's thigh gave a horrible jerk and she fell to the ground in a heap as the carriage drove away…_

_"Sally!" The boy screamed, in horror…She reached for him still as the men dragged her resisting form away. "I love you, Francis Sullivan!" She screamed after him before being struck in the head with a gun… _

"_Look for me in Santa Fe!" He shouted to her… _

_"I will…Francis…Jack...Cowboy…" She blacked out…_

Jack snapped awake, gasping for air and finding himself in a cold sweat. His eyes were rolling as he began to notice his surroundings and his friends standing over him. They all had the same worried look as he ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh…

"You okay, Cowboy?" Kid Blink asked as he extended a hand out to Jack who took it graciously and stood up. He nodded as the others explained to him that he had dozed off that afternoon. It was now night time and they all seemed excited as they were going to Medda's theatre, dancing and hopping on barrels the whole way there. Jack was the only one who lingered behind, causing David to worry a bit. He fell back until he was beside his friend and slapped his back with an open palm.

"Look, if it's about Sarah- its okay; we're cool now and she…"

"The dream was _not_ about Sarah," he answered coldly and looked away. David looked at him with his regular concerned face and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I wasn't talking about…" David replied, until Jack gave him a look that oozed poison. "Jack, I'm your best friend; you can tell me anything. Now, what was the dream about?"

Jack took a breath as if he was going to spill it to David, but he held his tongue and just let out a sigh instead. David looked down, discouraged at his failure and worried for his friend.

"It was about things I thought I had forgotten," Jack whispered and folded his arms. David pondered this and shrugged at him, deciding to join the others again.

"Things I had _hoped_ I had forgotten…"

* * *

"Oh, Medda," Sally said shakily at her boss. "I'm so nervous! What if I screw my song up badly?"

Medda smiled and embraced her before putting her hands on the sides of the girl's face and looking into her eyes with motherly determination.

"You will do beautifully, my dear!" She exclaimed and tucked a loose hair behind Sally's ear. "You have the voice and looks of an angel and you dance like a snowflake in the wind!"

Sally gave her a weak smile, but didn't believe her; partly because she had just recited a line from a play and secondly, she couldn't dance _that_ well. She had been injured by a gunshot in her thigh when she was a child escaping the Refuge. Her then best friend, Francis Sullivan, had persuaded her to escape by climbing into Roosevelt's carriage and heading to Santa Fe. Unfortunately, only Francis, or Jack as he insisted he be called, made it there. Sally remembered how she loved him and how they had both shared their first kiss with each other when Snyder wasn't looking, causing the other children to giggle at them as they blushed.

Sally carried herself out of this daydream and continued to put on some powder as she looked at herself in the mirror of her vanity table. Jack was in Santa Fe now; why should she hope to see him again in this place?

To be continued…


	2. A Face In The Crowd

A/N- Thank you to those who reviewed! This chapter contains a line from the movie 'Big Fish.' I really liked the line and thought that it might be cool in this. Sorry, I can't come up with really good lines! By the way, the song used in this chapter in an original! Read on!

**Chapter Two: A Face in the Crowd**

_Long ago, it seems so long ago_

_How young and innocent we were_

_She may not remember me_

_But, I remember her…_

_-The Phantom of the Opera_

The boys sped into the theatre, laughing and talking amongst themselves excitedly as Jack slumped along behind them, gloomily. Before, he would have been leading the group in as the staff of the theatre gawked at him in admiration. Now, he seemed to be like a fad that had gone out of style long ago. He sighed heavily and kept his eyes to the floor as he made is way through the other guests to his table, where he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms like a pouting child. Nobody as paying attention to him; they were to busy trying to figure out who the new "starlet" was.

"Who do you think she is?"

"Don't care, as long as she's pretty."

"Said on the sign her name is Sally."

"Sally what?" Jack suddenly piped in to the other's surprise. They stared at him for a moment and shrugged, causing him to scoff at their stupidity. He later admitted to himself that that they weren't stupid; he hadn't even seen the sign at the door. He just wanted to be angry to get attention and to Hell what they thought.

_This Sally girl could be anyone_, he assured himself as the lights dimmed. _There are plenty of other Sallys in New York._

A piano started up like a record and a single spotlight hit the darkened stage, revealing a young girl with her head bowed, standing with a bouquet of assorted flowers in her hand. The piano played an arpeggio up the entire piano and ended in an endless chord. The girl began to sing softly, like a mockingbird…

_He'd always sit there silently_

_And think about a place to be_

_A better place, a dream, a joy;_

_One proper for a young cowboy…_

_He left me there one autumn night_

_When he was fin'ly out of sight_

_I thought, 'Remember what he'd say_

_He left to get to Santa Fe!'_

The music livened up as the entire band started to play a jazzy, upbeat song that made the audience sway and holler. Skittery nudged Jack to sway along with them but found it a hopeless cause as Jack was in a state of shock. His mouth hung open in disbelief until Race leaned over and slapped his mouth shut, causing Race to receive a nasty glance which made him shrug as he placed a cigar in his mouth.

"I'll be damned," Jack whispered to himself as he leaned forward in his chair. He watched the other boys run up to the edge of the stage while waving their arms in the air and blowing kisses at her. He was confused by a twinge of jealousy that ran through him. "Sally, you _have_ grown up…" He noticed her perfect smile, her ginger hair that framed her delicately beautiful face, her… Jack cleared his throat and smiled to himself as she sang on…

_Out where the cowboys live and roam_

_Out where _my_ cowboy calls his home_

_Out where the sun shines ev'ry day_

_That's what I want, that's Santa Fe!_

_That endless land of wheat and grain_

_Is lovely, even in the rain_

_The sky is bright; it never ends_

_Over evenings I'd spend with my friends!_

Suddenly, she broke into a dance that seemed to mix the styles of that of a rodeo and ballet. The boys at the front of the stage hooted and did the two-note wolf whistle for her. She looked out into the audience and her rosy smile was replaced with a stare of wonder and amazement reflected by Jack.

Jack had overheard some hopeless romantic he had sold a newspaper to tell a man searching for love something that popped into his mind for an instant as he gazed at Sally.

"Time stops when you see your true love."

It certainly seemed like that pertained to that moment; he couldn't hear the music and the crowd's movements had slowed to a stop. Jack stood up and walked slowly to the edge of the stage, brushing past the statues that took up the space and reached out his hand to Sally, just as he did that night long ago. The strange thing about this fantasy was that she was moving as well, not frozen like the rest of the room, and her hand gently touched the tips of his fingers. They smiled together for one moment until the room began to gain life again and the moment was lost. The crowd was roaring and some of the boys by the stage wondered how Jack had gotten in front of them. Sally continued her song and the music became majestic as she reached the grand finale…

_Santa Fe is still there, waiting_

_Quietly anticipating_

_The day that I arrive they'll say_

"_Welcome, girl, to Santa Fe!"_

_Ye-Haw!_

The song ended and the entire theatre seemed to explode like dynamite with the applause. The young woman stood at center stage with her arms out, gasping for air and smiling into the audience with a rare sparkle in her emerald eyes. Jack clapped slowly, smiling and whooping with the other boys. Just then, she took the bouquet in her hands and threw it into the crowd where Jack caught it. He was about to look up at her, but she was being helped off the stage by few stagehands.

_The poor things out of breath_, he thought to himself as the other boys clapped him on the back. Without looking feminine, he brought the flowers to his nose and took in their scent- roses, baby's breath, lilacs, lilies…All lovely. He thought it was weird, but they all smelled like Sally as he remembered her back at the Refuge…one time in particular…

_Francis Sullivan sat quietly in his room, his back against a wall as he tossed a ball he had found. It was the children's short time to play among others at the Refuge and he dare not waste it. He watched the younger children play tag as Snyder watched in a quiet and disapproving manner. The state had requested he set up a time for the children to socialize within other cabins in the building. He had that old expression of," Why me?" on his face which made Francis sneer to himself just as Sally Mathews slumped down beside him. She tried to snatch the ball as it was in air when he threw it, but was unsuccessful for the first few tries. They laughed at each other until she leaned over and caught it, making Francis try to grab it back. He leaned a little far and they found their faces no more than an inch apart. They stared into each other's eyes and smiled softly._

_He looked over to see if Snyder was looking and found him oblivious to this entire thing. Francis pressed his lips against Sally's and kept them there for a few moments, hearing the other children to giggle and whisper among each other. It was like everything he ever heard about a first kiss; the world stopped, fireworks going off, etc… Snyder noticed this and turned around to see the two, still locking lips. He grew red as a strawberry and strode over to break them apart, taking Francis with him by his shirt collar. Francis didn't care; he was in a complete daze, still feeling her lips on his and her smell intoxicating him…_

"Who are you marrying, Jack?" Kid Blink joked as the boys made their way back to their seats at the table. Jack shoved him away playfully and walked over to the stage door in a daze.

"You think somethin' was in those flowers?" Mush asked the others who laughed and waited for the next act.


	3. Jack and Sally

A/N- Whoa…Until I wrote down the title to this chapter, I had no idea about the Jack and Sally thing. Y'know, like Nightmare Before Christmas? Whoa…In case I don't update before I leave for a vacation, I just want to say, have a mildly exciting December month! (I don't want to offend anyone) And yes; the song _is_ an original I titled 'Making My Way To Santa Fe.' You will see some more originals in this story later. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three: Jack And Sally**

_Don't waste you time on me_

_You're already the voice inside my head…_

_-blink-182_

Jack slipped through the door and made his way towards the back door, still clutching the flowers as if it were Valentine's Day. The streets were as barren and empty as they were earlier that day, except for three figures standing by the streetlamp, conversing with one another. One was taller and bigger than the other two who were skinny and short, but they were all men. When Jack came into view, they stopped talking and stared at him like vultures. Jack noticed this and quickly strode into the back door, not risking a fight before seeing Sally…

_"Jack, why do you always get in fights?"_

_"I don't; I just speak my mind."_

_"With your fists?"_

_"Yes."_

Jack smiled at this memory and saw Medda approaching him for an embrace. He grinned and let her hug him, her fuzzy purple fan poking him in the back.

"How have you been, kid?" She asked as she pulled away and saw the flowers. "Oh, thank you for bringing those back. We got tired of having to waste so many when boys wouldn't bring them back." She reached for them. "I'll take those back to her…"

"No, Medda," he assured her and looked down at them. "I'll take them back. Y'see, Sally and I go way back…to the Refuge."

Medda raised her eyebrows in surprise and shook her head while insulting the Refuge like a concerned mother. She led Jack to one of the dressing room doors and knocked, just as she finished talking.

"Yes?" A small, strained voice replied. "Medda, is it you?" A sigh. "I'm trying to get my damn garters off…. they're not coming off…" Another frustrated sigh.

"It's Medda, dear," she interrupted as Jack blushed, faintly. The door was unlocked and Medda opened the door to reveal Sally with a hiked up skirt on, fiddling with one of the garters on her thigh. Jack was taken aback by the wound right next to it, made by one of the refuge worker's bullets and noticed it had not haled very well. It was black and red and it looked like some deformed bruise that lingered like a virus.

Medda sighed as she walked in, instructing the girl on how to remove the "blasted thing" while Jack lingered in the doorway, not being seen by Sally just yet. He tilted his head to the side to try and get a better look at her, but her face was engulfed by the red hair that fell with a dainty bounce. She finally looked up as she lowered her skirt, placing the two garters on her vanity table and sitting down on the edge of her bed. The room was her bedroom; Jack had overheard Medda complaining to a stagehand about how none of the acts would clean up their rooms and how the mice were going to get in the place.

"Who is that?" She asked Medda nervously while gazing at the shadow outside the room. Medda laughed put a hand on Sally's shoulder while beckoning Jack inside. He entered slowly, letting the light creep up his body and finally to his face. Sally let out an excited cry and leapt up from the bed, running to her friend and throwing her arms around him happily. He returned the embrace and pulled her close as Medda crept out of the room, smiling.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" She whispered in his ear as he closed his eyes, remembering how he would comfort her at the refuge after one of Snyder's beatings. His awareness of where his was snapped back into functioning when she pulled away and sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside her where she wanted him to sit. He heard the audience outside applaud one of the acts as he slumped down beside her, smiling like a loon before noticing how stupid he looked in the vanity mirror.

"Same here," Jack replied as he handed her the flowers like a bashful child. He tried to straighten himself up in case the other boys were looking through some hole in the wall, but ended up looking paranoid. _This is ridiculous_, he thought to himself as she took the flowers, graciously. _I'm _Jack Kelly_, strike leader and rebel and here I am acting like some stupid school girl…God, her eyes are pretty…Stop it!_

"So, did you ever make it to Santa Fe?" She asked, breaking him out of his mental fight. He stared at her for a moment, and then laughed almost sadly.

"Almost," he breathed, causing her to give him a confused look. "But, then I fell in love with the…" He indicated quotes "'Girl of my dreams.' But, she fell in love with someone else through…"

"Love letters," Sally finished for him. "It's happened to me, too, so don't worry about it."

"You've had men?" He asked before filtering what he would say. She laughed and stood up, walking to the vanity table. He decided to laugh with her as he ran a hand through his hair, inwardly asking himself what was wrong with him. "Yes, but none worked out that well because they all only wanted to… Are you laughing at me, Mr. Jack Kelly?"

The last question was playful and reminded Jack of the young girl he knew at the Refuge; the awkward, funny, lovely girl he met so long ago. She smiled her old half smile and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before looking away with a soft blush filling her cheeks.

"So," Jack exclaimed, later. "How did you get out of the jail?"

She groaned and made a sarcastic pained expression before turning around in her chair to face him. She sighed and looked down at the bouquet that she had forgotten to set down.

"Well," she began as he stared at her with a curious expression on his face. "After you left, Snyder was like a tyrant; he sent out people to look for you and locked me up for months by myself. I would stare out the window, hoping to see you on the horse you always described. You know, the brown one you'd find in Santa Fe with the…"

"White hair shaped like an arrow on his forehead," he said with her like they were reciting an old bedtime story. "Freedom, I remember was his name. Go on."

"Yes," she continued. "Well, a few years went by and I turned sixteen. That day, Snyder let me out of that room and he said something I never forgot. He said, 'Sally, what a woman you have become.' He told me he'd let me out early if I…if I…"

_Bastard_, Jack thought angrily to himself as he found himself clenching his fists.

"But I didn't. I spat in his face and told him I'd rather die. He hit me and threw me back inside the cell where I waited patiently for my release. The day finally came and I danced out of that place, cursing it and laughing happily, telling the world I was going to Santa Fe. Snyder watched me and told me he'd get me and you back in the refuge somehow."

"How did you get here, though?" Jack asked after a tense minute.

"I was going to find you, but I didn't have the money to get to Santa Fe and you were busy with the strike. I would watch you and the others protesting and wonder how I could catch you eye. I saw the police outside the theatre at the rally drag you out and I was at the children's labor strike cheering when you'd won. Down on my cash, I searched for a job and eventually Medda offered me one here; at first as a stagehand, then an act when she heard me sing. Now, it's all worked…"

"Jack?" A voice called from outside the door. It opened to reveal David, Race, and Blink in the doorway with relieved expressions on their faces when they found him. Jack straightened up and introduced them to Sally, one by one."

"Enchanted, mademoiselle," Race said in a terrible French accent as he took her hand in his and kissed it.

"You mind it I cut in, Jacky-boy?" Blink asked as he imitated the same gesture as Race. She blushed as Jack gave Blink a look that oozed poison.

"Pleased to meet you," David said, and shook her hand. The other boys laughed at him and ran out the door, calling for Jack to come with them to see Mush set fire to a bunch of papes in the square. Jack rushed a hand through his hair again, laughing at the guys as he turned to Sally for their goodbyes.

"Don't mind them. They're idiots." He assured her with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. She laughed as he took her hand in his. "Can I see you tomorrow? You know, just to catch up."

"Of course," she replied. "After my act, just come through the back door. Hopefully next time, I won't be having a wrestling match with my garters."

"Goodbye," he breathed and disappeared through the door into the shadows.

"Don't forget!" She called. "We have a lot of catching up to do!"

"I won't!" Came the reply.

Sally breathed heavily and waited till she heard the back door shut before grasping the bouquet and dancing through her room like a loon. She collapsed on her bed and sucked in the aroma of the flowers as she drifted into a sleep that was drunk on dreams.

"Jack Kelly," she sighed. "Exactly as I remember…"

Jack ran out the back door into the night, dancing ahead of his friends in a dreamy daze. His friends exchanged awkward looks and chuckled to themselves as he threw one arm up at the night sky.

"I guess something _was_ in those flowers," Mush whispered as the boys headed to the square. Jack took no part in this; he went straight to the lodging house and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of Sally dancing before him on the stage.

"Sally, Sally, Sally," he whispered to himself before falling into unconsciousness. "You _have_ grown…"


	4. Brush Up Your Shakespeare

A/N- This chapter is the brainchild of what happens when a performing arts student gets a hold of her old Broadway CDs. Contains, "Brush up Your Shakespeare" from Kiss Me, Kate. How original of me. Enjoy.

**Chapter Four: Brush Up Your Shakespeare**

_Brush up your Shakespeare_

_Start quoting him now_

_Brush up your Shakespeare_

_And the women you will wow…_

_-Kiss Me, Kate_

Jack woke up the next morning, the sun slicing through the windows on his pillow like an arrow on a target. He yawned and sat up in his bunk, noticing that the other boys were lounging around, fully dressed. He jerked his head around to find a clock on a wall, but was unsuccessful and ended up asking one of the boys what time it was.

"About twelve," Skittery replied, sleepily. Jack cursed and leapt out of bed, grabbing the clothes on his bed post and pulling them on hurriedly. He was halfway through pulling on his trousers when he heard the boys sniggering at him, stupidly.

"What?" Jack said, almost whining. When none of the boys answered, Blink took it upon himself to tell him why they were still at the lodging house.

"Old Man Pulitzer thought he'd give us a break," he explained. "The sales have been bad, so he's decided to let us take some time off until sales get good again. But, we're still getting paid! I wonder how many men in New York get paid for sitting on their asses." A few newsies giggled as he pointed to some boys on the other side of the room. "They think it's generous, but I think he's just trying to suck up to us after the strike." Some boys chuckled in agreement as Jack rolled his eyes and flopped back onto his bunk.

"So, Jacky-boy," Mush exclaimed. "Who was that doll you were with last night? The boys told me all about it."

Jack rolled over to face him and saw the faces of all the boys of the lodging house turned to him, putting him on the spot.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in annoyance. "Sally? Oh, we go way back…to the refuge. I just haven't seen her in a while, that's all."

Some of the boys laughed at this remark, while others had tuned out of the conversation at the word "refuge." Racetrack, who had been listening quietly the entire morning while sipping a bottle of soda, decided to pipe in at this.

"Yes boys," he said, placing the bottle on the crotch of his pants. "They only want to get caught up." He started poking Jack on the leg with the tip of the bottle until Jack sat up and swatted him away in embarrassment and annoyance. The boys died laughing and made some whooping noises as Race put his arm around Jack's shoulders, giving him a fake toast with the same bottle.

"Shut up," Jack demanded, but he wasn't heard over the raucous. Race reached in his pocket and retrieved a cigar with a match. He lit it and puffed, blowing smoke into Jack's face but he didn't seem to mind; most of the boys, including him, had smoked in their lives and when you're living with them, you get used to it.

"You like her?" Race said through teeth clenching the cigar.

"As a friend," Jack replied. It was only later when he figured out that was most certainly a lie. The boys around the room groaned and clicked their tongues at each other till some of them complained that the others were spitting on them.

"This is ridiculous," Jack sighed and fell back onto his pillow, rolling around to face the other direction. Race shook his head and grabbed a book from one of the other boys who protested for a moment before Race gave him a nasty glance. He shut up. Race sprinkled the ashes from his cigar over the edge of the bed and turned back to Jack, gazing at his peacefulness for a moment before taking the heavy book and hitting him with it squarely in the head. Jack jerked around and grabbed the book, placing Race in a headlock as he read the title.

"'Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare?' You've got to be joking!" He shook his head and gave Race a blow on the head with it before letting him out of his grip. "Race, I am a poor kid in New York. My reading level is here." He put out a fat hand in thin air. "This book is way up here." He indicating a space in the air with the other hand about two feet higher than the previous one. The other kids laughed as Race shrugged and flipped to a page, clearing his throat before telling the crowd of boys to shut their traps.

"'Romeo, Romeo," He recited in a high, squeaky girl voice. "Where for art thou Romeo!' Look here, Jack; you win her heart and _you're_ Romeo!" Jack snorted and took the book in his hands, realizing that if he didn't, the others would pester him for hours. Race hopped down and beckoned for Blink to join him in a song they had heard once at the theatre.

_The girls today in society _

_Go for classical poetry_

_So, to win their hearts, one must quote with ease_

_Aeschylus and Euripides _

_But the poet of the all_

_Who will start them simply raving_

_Is the poet people call_

_The bard-of-Stratford-on-Avon_

_Brush up your Shakespeare_

_Start quoting him now.  
Brush up your Shakespeare  
And the women you will wow.  
Just declaim a few lines from "Othella"  
And they think you're a helluva fella.  
If your blonde won't respond when you flatter 'er  
Tell her what Tony told Cleopaterer,  
If she fights when her clothes you are mussing,  
What are clothes? "Much Ado About Nussing."  
Brush up your Shakespeare  
And they'll all kowtow. _

With the wife of the British embessida  
Try a crack out of "Troilus and Cressida,"  
If she says she won't buy it or tike it  
Make her tike it, what's more, "As You Like It."  
If she says your behavior is heinous  
Kick her right in the "Coriolanus."  
Brush up your Shakespeare  
And they'll all kowtow,  
And they'll all kowtow,  
And they'll all kowtow!

* * *

The applause was even better than last night's and its sounds still rang in Jack's ears as he made his way to Sally's room. She had performed a slow, jazzy song tat reminded him of a story they would read at the refuge at recess time while the others played. He knocked on her door, thinking about the lines he'd read earlier that day and what Race had "taught" him. They door opened, revealing Sally in the forest green dress and jewelry she'd flaunted onstage, smiling and widening the opening for him to enter.

"Great job onstage," he commented as she shut the door. She just gave him her half smile and plopped down in her vanity table chair as he slumped on the bed. "Did you write the song?"

She nodded. "A long time ago, when I was a stagehand. I had been writing poetry in between acts and sat down one morning at put music to it. Medda helped a bit, though, so don't give me all the credit." Jack began to hum the familiar melody until he noticed Sally staring at him, dreamily.

"Are you okay?" He asked, breaking her from her trance. Her cheeks flushed and she looked away, only to find his smiling face in the mirror. She smiled and began to remove her emerald necklace from her pale neck.

They chatted for hours, it seemed, until David opened the door and stuck his head through the crack, interrupting the two's conversation. He looked tired and frustrated, probably because he tried to tell Race that Sally wouldn't like to see him with a bottle on his crotch.

"Jack," he said, breathlessly, as if he had just run a marathon. "The others are getting crazy; I think tat Blink is drunk and he's mistaken me for Medda. Could you please help?"

Jack and Sally laughed at his helplessness and David rolled his eyes, disappearing from the doorway having headed down the hall.

"I'm coming, David!" Jack assured him and started towards the door until he remembered that he hadn't spoken a single line from 'Romeo and Juliet.' He stopped in the doorway and turned to face Sally, inwardly saying, _Damn you, William Shakespeare! _

He took her hand in his and kissed it softly.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow," he recited. He watched as she smiled in humility before speeding out the door, half-relieved and excited, half- felling stupid and cheesy. But, he saw her reaction- a shy smile. A smile!

"Thanks, Willie Shakespeare," he said to himself as he grabbed Blink's arm to lead him home. Blink hiccupped and stumbled about, laughing and giggling like a lunatic.

"Who's Willie Shakespeare," he said in a slurred voice. Jack just looked at him and smiled as he clapped him on the back.

"You are, my friend."

Oh," Blink replied, a bit confused. "Well, you're welcome."

A/N- By the way, there is about one more chapter before the story gets sad and a teensy weensy bit angsty. That's why it's under the angst/romance section. But, don't worry; no one's going to cut their wrists or anything. Happy Holidays! I'll see you next year!


End file.
